A Magical Christmas: Part 1
Original Works
Written by kvmw
Edited by Polarxo
JOSHUA WAS SEVENTEEN. That meant a great many things to him, the most important of which was that he could perform magic outside of school. Magic outside of school. He relished the thought. He often loathed the rule—did the Ministry not think that teenagers were incapable of controlling themselves? It was not like the rule worked very well anyway. The Trace only told you about the location, not the actual person. Any pure-blood or half-blood could perform magic within their own house, because they could blame it on the parents.
Not him, however.
This was something that had nagged him in the past six years at Hogsworth. While he was routinely the best in school, along with his semi-friendly rival Ailee, he often had to work very hard at the beginning of each year to catch up.
But now was not the time to worry about that. It was the middle of his seventh year at Hogsworth—Christmas break, exactly—and he found himself staring up at the galaxy-painted ceiling of his bedroom. He had been home for a grand total of two days, but was already itching to do magic.
And now that he was seventeen, he could do it.
He sat up quickly, eager to try what he could do. Accersio, clothes!, he thought, having already mastered non-verbal spells.
The door of his closet flew open, and every single pair of pants, shirts, sweaters, and jackets flew towards him, landing on him with a loud thump.
“Joshua?” he heard his mom shout over the Christmas music playing downstairs. “Have you fallen off your bed again?”
“I’m fine, mom!” he shouted back.
He looked back at the pile of clothes that now sat upon him. Maybe he had been a little too quick to use magic, for something as basic as getting clothes. Magic should be used for important things, he reminded himself. A little fun here and there was alright, but if he continuously did it then magic would lose its charm.
Joshua struggled out of the clothes, waving his wand once more. The clothes immediately returned themselves to the closet, even organizing them by color and type. “That’s handy,” Joshua mused as he prepared for the day.
“Joshua?” his mom asked, as he clambered down the stairs. “Are you going to the orphanage again this year to help out with the Christmas celebration?”
“Of course,” he said. “They still open at 9, right?”
His mom hummed in agreement, setting a stack of Eggnog French Toast in front of him. It was a tradition his family had ever year, and it was one of his favorite things about breakfast. “Is dad coming to watch the pageant?”
Last year, his father had missed the Christmas pageant that the orphanage usually had. They did not make much money off of it, being unable to buy the necessary props and costumes, but it was still great fun for the children.
“He should be home by twelve,” his mother mused. “He has a surgery at seven, but he should be done by then. As long as there isn’t a surgery before then, he should be able to come.”
Joshua nodded, satisfied. “Thanks, mom.”
“Anything for you, Joshua.”
“Josh!”
As Joshua entered the orphanage, two kids rushed to greet him. He smiled warmly as they clutched his waist—he could remember when they only reached his thighs. “Wendy! Mark! How are you two?”
The two were orphans from Canada, and as such, they had bonded quickly. They were the oldest of the seven orphans who lived here.
“We’re good, Joshy!” Wendy said. “In fact, we’re excellent!”
“Now that you’re here!” Mark finished. “Did you know? We’re doing Cinderella for this year's pageant! Aunt Lisa said she’d going to have to find a transforming dress for us, but it’s going to be awesome!”
“That sounds amazing!” Joshua said. “Why don’t you show me where Aunt Lisa and Aunt Rose are? I need to talk to them about how I can help!”
“You’ll make it tons better,” Wendy observed, leading Joshua to the kitchen. “The plays are never as special without you, Joshy.”
“Thanks, Wendy,” he said fondly, patting her back as he stepped into the kitchen. “Aunt Lisa! Aunt Rose! It smells wonderfully!”
“Joshua, always the flatterer,” Aunt Rose said, smiling as she came to hug him. “You’ve grown taller, again! How are you? We miss you around here. How is boarding school?”
He had lied about where he was going during the school year. He couldn’t tell his Aunts that he was going to a school of magic—it was forbidden. “Boarding school is great! The food is great as well,” he smiled cheekily. “Almost as good as your food.”
Aunt Rose pretended to slap him with the spatula she was holding. “I highly doubt it. Perhaps you need my cooking to remind you?” She smiled.
“You’re cooking will always be the best,” Joshua said. “Now, I heard Aunt Lisa was looking for a special dress?”
“You should go talk to her about that,” Aunt Rose mused. “She’s fretting about it in her office.”
“Okay, thanks, Aunt Rose!”
He stepped outside—Aunt Lisa’s office was a converted little shed that had been equipped with electricity and heating. She liked to watch the outside world through the window of the shed— especially at this time of year, the pure white snow covering the landscape in a sparkling, white blanket. He made his way along the partially-concealed pathway that led up to the shed—he could see a warm, golden light through the window.
He knocked on the door—Aunt Lisa hated it when people walked in without announcing themselves. A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing a bright, middle-aged, red-haired woman with a large smile on her face. “Joshua! I knew you were coming! Come in, come in.” She hurried him through the door and plopped him on an old, worn red sofa that he had sat in many times before.
“How are you, Joshua?” she asked, sitting on the couch opposite. “School alright?”
“Yes, Aunt Lisa,” he said. “I was just telling Aunt Rose about how their cooking was nearly as good hers.” The two shared a laugh.
“I doubt their winters are as pretty as ours,” Aunt Lisa said, offhandedly. Indeed, where the orphanage was located had very pretty winters. It never snowed enough that there were storms, but it snowed enough to dust the homes and shrubbery of the area, giving the town a winter-wonderland feel.
If anything, however, Hogsworth could well compete. The castle grounds only became more magnificent with the winter storms, tall spires of stone and snow towering of the landscape. The Great Lake, frozen over, creating a frozen mirror of ice. The Great Hall, candles basking the room in a warm glow as snowflakes danced across the enchanted ceiling.
“It’s...different,” Joshua offered.
“This school of yours must be very magical,” she observed. Joshua laughed awkwardly as she continued, “Why else have you come to me, Joshua? I can tell you have something you want to say.”
“Am I not allowed to visit you?” Joshua teased. “But you’re right, as always, Aunt Lisa. I heard you're looking for a special dress? I wanted to help.”
Aunt Lisa’s face immediately saddened. “This pageant is very important to the children. I want to make it different, more magical, this year, but I don’t know how…”
“I can help,” Joshua repeated.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “I don’t want to trouble you.”
“Really, Aunt Lisa,” he said. “I love the children nearly as much as you do. Let me help them!”
“If you insist.” Aunt Lisa smiled. “The pageant is in a week, as you well know. I wish you luck.”
To be continued in the next issue of the Daily Diviner!